Uconn

Boatright playing 'huge' for Huskies BY ED DAIGNEAULTRepublican-American

Connecticut's Ryan Boatright (11) goes up for a basket while guarded by DePaul's Derrell Robertson Jr. (10) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn., Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

STORRS — Ryan Boatright took a pass on answering a question about whether his listed height is anywhere near legitimate. He knows better than anybody that he is not 6 feet tall.

He also care less than anybody.

The sophomore guard ripped off a huge one-handed dunk in the second half of UConn's 99-78 romp over DePaul on Tuesday night at Gampel Pavilion. The way he is playing lately, Boatright can be listed only as "huge."

Boatright had 22 points, giving him at least 16 in eight of the last nine games. Less important than the production is the pace at which he has played. It has meant everything.

"Boat is not only fast, he's explosive," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "He can get to the rim. He gave us the jolt we needed. When he pushes it and plays with that force and plays with that pace, we're tough to beat."

It's the force that has been impressive. Boatright might be 5-foot-10 and somewhere in the 160-pound range, but he plays larger and tougher than that. It has been a tremendous boost for UConn, especially with Shabazz Napier having decided to take over the primary point-guard role.

Boatright is free to do what he does, and has improved his jump shot greatly along the way. Opponents have to worry about his driving to the basket, which frees up his jump shot. And when the Huskies are out on the fast break with Boatright in the lead, it's nearly impossible to stop.

"It's fun playing like that," Boatright said. "The good thing is, we all want to play like that. It makes things so much easier. I like to push but I think I've learned this year to push and not be out of control."

In the flow: Ollie would like to get more offensively from DeAndre Daniels, but he's not overly disappointed with the 10.1 points Daniels was averaging entering Tuesday night's game. Daniels was getting his shots, no matter how many minutes he played. Ollie just wants him to be more selective with those shots.

"I want his offense to come in the flow," Ollie said. "DeAndre is going to get 10 shots if I play him 17 minutes or 40 minutes, which I like. I want him to shoot better from the 3-point line and not settle for threes."

Daniels had hoisted 31 shots from 3-point range entering Tuesday night, which is not too many for a guy with Daniels' shooting ability but might be a bit too much for a guy who is easily the Huskies' best interior threat.

Ollie pointed out a couple of times in the Marquette game where Daniels could have faked his defender, taken a couple of dribbles around him and then pulled up for a mid-range shot. Instead, Daniels shot from beyond the arc.

"We watched the film and he was disappointed with that," Ollie said. "He'll get better and learn from it."

He did. Daniels struck for a career-best 26 points in the victory.

Nice gesture: Nothing to do with basketball but certainly plenty to do with UConn, the Orange Bowl Committee on Monday night donated $80,120 to the UConn Sandy Hook Scholarship Fund. The committee is the host for the BCS title game and the total represented $1 for every fan in attendance at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

UConn athletic director Warde Manuel accepted a check from Orange Bowl president O. Ford Gibson and Big East commissioner Mike Aresco before Monday night's game. The donation brings the scholarship fund's total to about $800,000.

"While we continue to grieve for those who were lost in Newtown, we're heartened by the outpouring of support for the scholarship fund," UConn President Susan Herbst said in a statement. "This generous gift will help support the transformational gift of higher education. The fund is a meaningful and respectful way to accomplish that."

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